Early Childhood Education for the Future:

The Creative Use of Public-Private Partnerships to Provide Cost-Effective, High Quality School

Readiness Programs

March 15, 2013

Cindy Zumwalt, Division AdministratorRhonda Clark, Principal ConsultantDivision of Early ChildhoodIllinois State Board of Education

Importance of Early Childhood Education

Challenges Opportunities Ensuring High-Quality

Preschool Programs

Presentation Overview

Two-thirds of the achievement gap is already there when children walk in the door to kindergarten

Early childhood interventions offer the highest return on investment of any strategy to address the achievement gap

Why Early Childhood Education?

Early Childhood Education is an

efficient and effective

investment for economic and

workforce development.

The earlier the investment, the

greater the return on investment.

Professor James J Heckman, Nobel Laureate in

Economics at the University of Chicago

FY 09 FY 10 FY 11 FY 12 FY 13

Funding $380m $342m $342m $325m $300m

PFA 3-5 95,123 91,910 83,997 78,607 73,883*

Impact of Reductions in the Early Childhood Block Grant

*estimated

Funding

Common Core State Standards

Provide teachers and parents with a common understanding of what students are expected to learn

Knowledge and skills students should have within their K–12 education careers

Potential impact on early childhood education programs

Mapping out the route to kindergarten readiness for children◦ Birth to Three Early Learning Guidelines - New◦ Three to Five Early Learning and Development

Standards - Revised Developing resources and trainings for the

entire field to better understand what children should know and be able to do at different ages/stages

Illinois Early Learning Standards

Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge Illinois

Illinois was awarded $34.2 million in Phase 2 of the RTT-ELC on 12-31-12

Illinois is one of only 14 states with ELC grant

Grant funding is for 4 years, through 2016

Help Illinois to connect the children most at risk of school failure with the high-quality early learning programs they need

Deepening the integration of state supports to create a unified framework for all early learning and development programs.◦ Preschool for All/Prevention Initiative

◦ Child Care

◦ Head Start/Early Head Start

Connecting our most at-risk children with the supports and services they need

Increasing program quality: from adequate to good and from good to great

3 Strategic Reform Priorities

To learn more about KIDS:

illinoiskids.org

Comprehensive Developmental Screening

Early Childhood Certified Teachers

Standards-Aligned Research-Based Curriculum

Ongoing Authentic Assessment

Intentional Teaching

Family Education Community

Collaboration Reflective Practice

Ensuring High-Quality Preschool Programs

Aligned with Common Core Standards and Head Start frame work

Ready to implement fall FY14

Illinois Early Learning and Development Standards

Three year rotation Program

Improvement Plan Professional

Development Offerings

Coaching Model

Program Monitoring

Contact InformationIllinois State Board of Education

Division of Early Childhood earlychi@isbe.net

http://www.isbe.net/earlychi/217-524-4835